Article by Cindy Liu
Source: www.emarketer.com, December 2020
One of the major themes to emerge from the pandemic has been the growing divide between the haves and have-nots. Some trends that have deepened the divide—such as the shift to ecommerce—are hardly new. But others will be short-lived trends that none of us could have predicted at the beginning of 2020. It remains to be seen when things will return to normal, but one thing is for certain: New habits formed in 2020 have altered the future of retail.
Goods vs. services
While the pandemic has affected many industries, its degree of impact on certain sectors is clear. As people spend more time at home, the share of consumer spending on services such as restaurants, travel, and leisure has declined, while the share spent on goods such as groceries, home fitness equipment, and other household items has risen.
According to data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the share of personal consumption expenditures on services fell to 61.5% in Q2 2020 from 63.8% in Q1 2020. By contrast, the share expended on goods rose to 39.6% from 36.7% over the same time frame. These trends continued into Q3 2020.